Thursday, April 12, 2007

Or, if my boys were in charge of this post they'd say "Macbook versing Gateway." Somewhere along the line they've irrevocably twisted this relatively straightforward preposition into a verb until it's become a family shibboleth.

But I digress . . . Andrew recently decided he needed a new computer and treated himself to a Macbook. Having received a new Gateway laptop last summer, I've been used to owning the coolest piece of technology in the house and am having a hard time accepting the Stranger Amongst Us.

All I hear about is "my Macbook does this" and "my Macbook does that" until I'm ready for desperate measures. I may have to buy one too. As you read the post listen for the "dueling banjos" song that should be playing in the background (but of course isn't--my Gateway doesn't do that).

Here are highlights from our somewhat bitter debate:

1. "My Macbook is lighter." To which I say: So what? Maybe if computers weren't quite so light computer geeks wouldn't have such a reputation for tiny muscles. Maybe big and clunky could be a good thing.

2. "My Macbook is easier to use." Yes, yes, I know. And when I want to know how to use my Gateway who is it hurting in the end? Me or my I.T. (information technologies) specialist--i.e. you?

4. "My Macbook has a built-in camera." Big deal. That's only important if you want to spend hours in front of your laptop making pictures like this: and I outgrew that in junior high (am I sounding bitter yet?)

5. "My Macbook makes funky sounds when it performs certain functions." My Gateway makes sounds alright, and some that could be considered funky, but not sounds it's supposed to be making.

6. "My Macbook never crashes." Yes I know the only stories you'll ever hear of Macbooks crashing are apocryphal--rather like Bigfoot sightings--but if it happens, I'm there with my video camera and I'm going to capture that moment on film for the entire internet to see.

7. "My Macbook never gets viruses." See number 6 above.

8. "My Macbook's keyboard feels better--smoother and sleeker--than your Gateway keyboard." *Sigh* Yea, and we know all about how men love the curves and lines.

9. "My Macbook has a special bullet-proof bag to go with it." For that alone I am completely and totally jealous. It deserved an entire post.

10. "My Macbook shuts down as quick as I can blink." No, really, it does. He's right, it's like the thing has a built in clapper--or responds to the "I Dream of Jeanie" blink thing.

11. "My Macbook has a cool glowing apple on the cover." *Another sigh* What does my Gateway have? The Gateway logo. And it doesn't light up.

12. "My Macbook's cord is cooler than your whole Gateway combined." For this I have to post a picture and it still doesn't do it justice--the cord design is brilliant. Brilliant I say!

13. "My Macbook was used in the last space shuttle launch." Okay maybe he's making this one up but it wouldn't surprise me if it were true. It is one cool machine.

I hear ya. My hubby has 3 Apple laptops, so yaaaah... you get the picture, I commiserate with you. But man that little light in the front that "breathes" when the laptop is in sleep mode, that's awesome, I could just watch that, pretty cool. The one thing I like better on my Dell than his Apples. The trackpad has buttons above and below the pad. I'm also not keen on the apple control key, it confuses me.Kim

We like our HP laptop, but when my mom decided to get a Mac a few months ago and I saw how cool it was I said to my husband, "Why didn't we get an Macbook?" He wondered the same thing...next time, next time.

I love, love, love my Mac. The lights that come up under the keyboard so I can type in the dark while my hubby snoozes are quite a fun option. I also like how intuitive it is, in other words, how easy it is for a non-computer-geek like me to use. If the rest of the world were run by Macs, it would be a better place. =) Okay, just being a little over-imaginative there....

Thanks for the laugh, particularly that picture. I'd never get my boys away from the laptop if they knew they could take funky pictures like that. I had a Mac years ago. It was so easy to use. My husband uses a PC for work and so when we moved we got rid of the Mac which was old and bought a PC. It's just not as user friendly or "intuitive" as someone else mentioned. So count me in as another person suffering from Mac envy. ;-)

Four years ago I bought a PC laptop and returned it the same day. I bought a Mac instead. My very simple reason was that I spent all day in a library that was silent as a tomb, the operating noise of a Mac was almost non-existent, while the PC whirred constantly. I hated it.

I must vote for the MacBook Pro - 15 inch. I am retiring from the corporate world where I had Thinkpads since they were made. I have been in the Windows world for so long I feel like a freed prisoner to have a computer I don't have to feed and care for every day instead of getting useful work from. I have used Windows for more than 10 years and there is nothing I can't do with my Mac. There's lots of bloggers with Macs - Christine Kane comes to mind. You can always ask her!

I don't know about the whole Macbook v. Gateway thing, but what I do know is that my daughter used that "versing" word too!! When I read that, I just smiled. Since I coach basketball, we play alot and talk alot about it. In the thick of the season, she comes in the room, and out of the blue, asks "Who are we versing today?" It caught me off-guard until I realized what she was talking about. I had to do the 3rd degree thing to understand, but understand I did, and I didn't correct her for it. I just loved it!On another note, I mentioned your blog in my post for today. I'm not expecting any reaction on your part, but I am extending an invitation to you to come and check it out.

This reminds me of the Mac/PC commercials on TV. I am not a Mac lover they are snooty because they have to have programs especially for them. That's my theory anyways.My 9 year-old uses the word 'versing', too. I thought he was the only one. Thanks for the new vocab word shibboleth. I will use it often... as often as you can use the word shibboleth that is. :o)